Hounded
by Carnivalgirl
Summary: AU. RLNT. When it looks like their family life's hit a dull and boring patch, Remus and Tonks start planning something to change that. And their not-so-bored children get an idea of what that something is. A short story of a little misunderstanding.


**A/N:** Once again, this is set in a world where Remus and Tonks did not die, but went on to have a happy life with Teddy and their second child. This is quite a few years after the war, but before Teddy has to go to Hogwarts. Hope you enjoy!

**Hounded**

It was April, and the UK was going through a long phase of rain that didn't seem about to stop any time soon. Even when it didn't rain, it was a dull time of year in every respect. Tonks's main pleasure in life seemed to be the coronation chicken sandwiches she got from Catering, when she had the fortune to work indoors with the heating. She wouldn't truly have considered getting another job in a million years, but patrolling in the rain made her wish she'd followed in her dad's footsteps and gone into business work. The worst part of it though was not the work at all – it was afterwards. She felt like she spent too much time apart from the family.

Late one Friday afternoon, Tonks breezed into the house with a big smile on her face to greet her family. The first person she saw was Teddy, who was leaning against the banister, blowing on a bubble pipe and looking pensive. His hair was light brown, and, she thought happily, he looked _just like Remus_.

"Hey, Teddy Bear! Have you had a good day today?"  
"Good afternoon, Mother," he replied, flatly.  
"…Have you had a good day?"  
"Busy."  
"Did your friend come over?"  
"No."  
He didn't seem to be in a good mood. She smiled at him. "I'll Floo his mum and see if he can come tomorrow."  
"Alright," Teddy said, and blew a couple more bubbles.  
"Want a hug?"  
"No thanks."

Definitely a bad mood. Maybe he'd been naughty today, and she shouldn't have offered him a hug. _Oh, I can't do this on a Frida_y, Tonks thought. _I need tea_. She went into the kitchen, where her daughter was filling up her little plastic teapot with squash.  
"Livvy? What are you doing?"  
"The master wants some tea," she replied, in a quiet but firm voice, then briskly walked away with the little teapot in one hand.

_How very odd_, Tonks thought. _Maybe Remus'll shed some light on this._ She decided to join him in the study with her cup of tea. The study doubled as their bedroom, and there was nothing nicer, to her, than coming back on a Friday and joining him for an hour or so to do nothing in particular. He smiled at her as she came in, and she sat on the bed and watched him for a moment.

"How many words have you managed today?"  
"None," he said, not looking up from the illegible page of notes he was staring at. She noticed he had a glass of squash on the desk. "Unless thinking about writing counts. Or thinking about thinking about writing…."

She smiled. "I'm glad to break the monotony. I just wanted to ask, why is our daughter calling you 'the master'? I may be a career mum, but if you start enslaving the kids, I'm going part-time."  
He turned his head so quickly he might have given himself whiplash. "What?"  
"She's taken up making the tea. Well, the squash. And Teddy's taken to leaning against the wall and thinking. Much as I want them to take after you, it's a bit early yet for all that, don't you reckon?"

"Yes, I've noticed that myself," he said. "It's been going on for a while. I did say to Livvy that she doesn't have to make tea, or squash, but she does anyway. Then she goes into her room, and Teddy stays in his, and they don't talk until it's time for more tea. I don't know what it is. It's probably just some elaborate game they've got going."  
Tonks rested her chin on one hand, and sighed. "I can guess why they're acting funny. They're bored, and lonely. I've been working, you've been working, and the rain won't stop, so they have to spend all their time shut up together. They probably can't stand each other any more. I wish there was something I could do for them. Maybe I should cut back on my hours…"

"Dora," Remus said, gently moving her hand from her cup of tea to hold it in his own. "We've had this discussion for years. You are working to make a better world for them. They both know that, and they love you for it. They're not lonely; Ted's got Rupert, the boy from down the road, and Olivia's got Victoire. But you're right that being indoors all the time is probably not having a good effect on them."

Tonks's glance moved towards the rainy window, and she frowned slightly. "We need to spend more time together. They need fun, and so do we! And not just sitting down at the table and playing _London Town_ again!"

Remus shook his head. "Dora, they're fine. Listen, you can hear Teddy walking around in his room." The floorboards in the far bedroom were creaking repeatedly.

"He's probably taken up pacing," Tonks said, smiling slightly, "like a certain someone else when he gets irritable."  
Remus rolled his eyes. "I have to do something to avoid tearing my hair out when the Cannons are losing."  
"If he starts doing _that_, I'll definitely start going part time."

Remus and Tonks were almost right. Teddy was indeed pacing furiously up and down his bedroom. However, he was far from bored. In fact his mind was deeply troubled. His dressing gown was flying out behind him as he walked, and his bubble pipe wiggled around as he gripped it between his teeth. He realised that the investigation was failing. The two police officers in the house were cleverer than he had previously thought. He and his assistant had sneaked into their office the day before, when the Chief had been downstairs listening to the wireless, and had found no trace of a Firebolt Two or anything that looked remotely like a birthday present. The only thing they had found was this _singular_ book, and without his assistant (who couldn't play today because his Auntie was visiting) the detective was, frankly, flummoxed. It was most irritating. He picked up his magnifying glass for about the tenth time and ran it over the cover.

Remus nearly spilled his tea in his lap when Tonks suggested it. "Really?"  
"Yes!" she said. "It's not a _bad_ idea, is it?"  
"No," he said, composing himself. "Actually, I rather like it."

_Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts_ looked like the sort of book boys like Teddy did not read, as a matter of principle and because they weren't allowed to. Its cover was a bright shade of magenta, and the title was in shining gold cursive. They had found it on the shelf on Teddy's mum's side of the bed, and thinking it looked good enough, grabbed it and taken it back for analysis in Teddy's bedroom.

"I think we have room in our hearts for one more, Remus. And I can get the time off work if I need it."  
Tonks was casual, flirty even when discussing big changes. Nothing could go wrong with this one, after all, so why not? As many times before, he noticed the way her hair hung over her heart-shaped face, and how very pretty she was. She always got his attention.  
"But you love your work, Dora. And really, the children being bored shouldn't be the reason for such a big decision."  
He said that, but he'd been convinced from the beginning. He'd wanted it for a while.  
"It's about more than that. You all deserve me more than the Ministry does. I can make the commitment, but when I can't be here, I want the kids to be happy."

Teddy walked to his sister's room and opened the door. "Excuse me, Mrs Housekeeper, I want some more tea. I can't deduce what this book is about."  
"She won't. She's not your servant, not even in the game. You'll have to do it yourself."  
Teddy stood still. He was momentarily speechless. It wasn't his short sister Olivia in knee-high socks and too many hair clips who was making this protest. It was a taller, more graceful girl in a pretty blue dress…_the_ girl.  
She slid the book from his hands in one deft movement. "Simple, my darling Lupin."  
"Nobody asked you!" he snapped, snatching the book back. "And don't call me darling...Miss Weasley."  
Victoire smirked. "OK, I won't tell you. You're the great detective. You can work it out."  
Ted turned his head away and scowled. Why did she have to be so confoundedly clever? He was two years older than her, and she was a girl.  
"Let me hear what you think, and then I'll…tell you if you're right."  
Victoire sat down on Olivia's bed, and the two other children moved closer to her. "Well," she said. "'Saucy' is a _dirty_ word, so 'saucy tricks' means…"

"Love," Tonks said. "A little more love. Always."  
Of course they could handle it. They could more than handle it. In fact, they didn't know why they had never thought about it before. A three. A five. Two odd numbers. They seemed right for their family.  
"If we could just do it in time for Teddy's birthday…"  
"Dora," Remus said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "we can't just do it in an afternoon."  
"Oh?" Her voice was laughing."How long does it take?"

The great detective Teddy Lupin was leaning against the door. "They said 'How long does it take?'"  
"It takes _ages_," Victoire said. "Maman and Dad told me on my birthday, and then it didn't happen 'til Christmas."  
"Oh, TEDDY! Can you believe it?" Olivia shouted. "We're going to have…"  
"Shhh! Go and make me some tea if you can't be quiet!" Teddy said, pulling down his cap, and writing 'TACKES AGES' on his little red clipboard "This is essential to the investigation."  
"I'm a good detective, aren't I, Teddy?" Victoire said, brushing a strand of thick blonde hair over her ear.  
"No, you're not a detective at all," Teddy said, "you're just…"

"Brilliant, Dora, you're utterly brilliant."  
Remus had given up on the work. He'd given up on the chair, too, and now he was sitting next to her on the bed.  
"It won't just be a gift for Teddy, it'll be a gift for all of us. We should have one. Just think…" And she let her empty teacup roll across the bed and lay back in his arms, just like she always used to. "we'd be coming full circle. Remembering everything."  
"Our past, represented in our present," he said, stroking her arm. "Only in a good way this time."  
"And hopefully with a little _bounce_!" Suddenly she flipped over so she was on her hands and knees, and the bedsprings creaked. She leaned forwards, and kissed his lips.

Teddy and Olivia gasped.  
"I told you," Victoire said, in a sing-song voice. "They've got the pink saucy book so they can have special kisses in bed. And special kisses only mean one thing."  
Teddy, forgetting that this was the logical solution he'd been hoping for, threw down his little red clipboard and pulled a face. "Eugh! Kissy kissy blech! Can't they just go and find one at the hospital? Then they could have it in time for my birthday."  
"I don't care," Olivia said, pressing her own little hands eagerly against the door. "They can have lots and lots and lots of special kisses, and then by Christmas our house will be full of…"

"Hard work. That's another thing. I want them to help look after it. After all, before long, we'll be getting Teddy his first owl, and he'll need to know how to look after a living thing on his own."  
"Oh, but Dora…" he protested, drawing her towards him. "They're just kids. We can deal with the hard bit."  
She let him wrap his arms around hers. "Uh-uh," she said. "They're future Aurors, and Aurors aren't raised by softie parents."  
He laughed, and shrugged. "Well, alright. Maybe they can help give it a bath, they'll like that. And by the way…they're future teachers."

"I didn't know they needed baths. How do they get dirty when they don't do anything?" Olivia asked Victoire.  
"Don't they know I want to be a detective?" Teddy cried.  
"No, they think you want to be a knight, like you did last year," Olivia said, quietly. "Or _maybe_ they still think you want to be a Quidditch player."  
Victoire giggled. "Teddy couldn't be a Quidditch player. I beat him six-nil."  
"Shh!" Teddy said angrily. "Can we go back to investigating my birthday present please? They're crafty, these police, and now I have them at their most vul…vulnabubble."  
"Teddy, it's not _for_ you, it's for all of us," Olivia retorted.  
"Of course it's for me. I'm their favourite. Bet you they let me choose the…"

"Name?" Tonks asked, even though, somehow, they both knew what the answer would be.  
"Well, there can only be one choice," Remus said. "Padfoot."

"PADFOOT?"

Tonks had a split second to ask Remus if he'd heard something when three small children suddenly burst into the room. Teddy raced to them, holding onto his cap.  
"Please, _please_, Mummy, you can't call the new baby Padfoot! That's not even a name!"  
"Call it TWINKLEBELLE!" Olivia shouted excitedly.  
"What? What new baby?" Tonks exclaimed, a little too surprised to laugh.  
"You've been having special kisses, haven't you?" Olivia said. "We guessed! Teddy's a det…deter..."

"Well," Remus said, smiling warmly, "actually, your mummy and I aren't going to have any more babies, I'm afraid. Our kisses just aren't that special any more."  
Tonks found it extremely difficult not to laugh at the very serious nods all three children gave to this.  
Teddy frowned and stamped his foot. "I knew I shouldn't have let you two join in. You're rubbish. I'm going back to my chambers. Go and get me some tea. Now."  
"Teddy!" Remus said, "this isn't funny. If you want squash, your sister does not have to make it for you."  
Teddy stamped his foot again and frowned more deeply. Tonks noticed that his hands were covered in ink and that for some reason he'd put on his dressing gown over his clothes. Suddenly, everything began to make sense.

"Hold the temper, Teddy Lupin!" she said, leaning forward and touching her son's shoulder. "The best detectives don't get where they are by being rude to their friends!"

She spotted the magnifying glass in his pocket and took it out.

"I understand what's going on now," she said, peering at everyone else in the room through the magnifying glass. "You've been reading Granddad's old books, haven't you? And I must say, I approve of your taste in pretend games, even if you do need to learn to play fair. And get some more practise at mystery solving."

She handed Teddy the glass back, and titled his cap back so she could see his face.

"Because this time, Great Detective, you've been _barking_ up the wrong tree. Dad and I have planned a surprise for you, but I promise it is absolutely not a new baby."

Olivia groaned in disappointment. Teddy automatically turned to look at Victoire to see if she would admit how wrong she'd been and recognise his superiority, but all she did was shrug.

"See if you can _sniff_ out some more clues," Remus said, looking at Tonks out of the corner of his eye. "And Mum and I will make you all something to eat."

As the three kids walked out to go to the kitchen, arguing again about the profound and complex mysteries of the Lupin house, Tonks turned to Remus, with a cheeky look in her eyes.

"I'll start shopping for stuff tomorrow. You phone the animal shelter."

"Sounds like a plan," Remus said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. "And by the way, if we're adopting a dog that's anything like the original Padfoot, you'll need quite a big bottle of flea shampoo."


End file.
